One Hundred Favorite Albums of the 1960s

(A companion to my One Hundred Favorite Albums of the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s, with the same rules, i.e. (1) the albums are ranked in something like my order of preference; (2) the decade is marked from January 1, 1960, to December 31, 1969; and (3) I’ve allowed myself multiple albums per artist when I thought it was warranted. I’ve also forbidden myself from choosing compilations unless the material was mostly unavailable on earlier albums, as with #38, #59, and #66. It’s probably apparent from the number of widely admired classics on this list that the 1960s are before my time, and I know the decade’s music less comprehensively than I know the music that came later—which is to say that you should trust me when it comes to the 1970s onward, but the list below starts to feel a little unstable to me around the halfway mark.)

  1. Astral Weeks by Van Morrison

  2. Songs of Leonard Cohen by Leonard Cohen

  3. Pandemonium Shadow Show by Harry Nilsson

  4. Odessey and Oracle by The Zombies

  5. Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys

  6. First Take by Roberta Flack

  7. In Concert by Phil Ochs

  8. Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music by Ray Charles

  9. Live at the Harlem Square Club, 1963 by Sam Cooke

  10. Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul by Otis Redding

  11. Under the Boardwalk by The Drifters

  12. Five Leaves Left by Nick Drake

  13. Aerial Ballet by Harry Nilsson

  14. I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You by Aretha Franklin

  15. Rehearsals for Retirement by Phil Ochs

  16. Help! by The Beatles

  17. Howlin’ Wolf by Howlin’ Wolf

  18. Abbey Road by The Beatles

  19. Take a Picture by Margo Guryan

  20. The Jack Jones Christmas Album by Jack Jones

  21. Walk Away Renée/Pretty Ballerina by The Left Banke

  22. Songs from a Room by Leonard Cohen

  23. Je t'aime... moi non plus by Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg

  24. Live at the Star Club, Hamburg by Jerry Lee Lewis

  25. The Dock of the Bay by Otis Redding

  26. Harry by Harry Nilsson

  27. Randy Newman by Randy Newman

  28. Crying by Roy Orbison

  29. Revolver by The Beatles

  30. A Hard Day’s Night by The Beatles

  31. Happy Sad by Tim Buckley

  32. Pain in My Heart by Otis Redding

  33. A Love Supreme by John Coltrane

  34. Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music Volume Two by Ray Charles

  35. Hurt!!!!!!! by Timi Yuro

  36. Point of No Return by Frank Sinatra

  37. Surfer Girl by The Beach Boys

  38. The Greatest by Arthur Alexander

  39. From Memphis to Vegas / From Vegas to Memphis by Elvis Presley

  40. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles

  41. Friday On My Mind by The Easybeats

  42. Leader of the Pack by The Shangri-Las

  43. Going to a Go-Go by Smokey Robinson and The Miracles

  44. Hand Clappin’ Foot Stompin' Funky Butt . . . Live! by Geno Washington & the Ram Jam Band

  45. Dean Martin Hits Again by Dean Martin

  46. The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart by Bob Newhart

  47. Ain’t That Good News by Sam Cooke

  48. Save the Last Dance for Me by The Drifters

  49. All Summer Long by The Beach Boys

  50. The Great Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads by Otis Redding

  51. I Ain’t Marching Anymore by Phil Ochs

  52. The Loved Ones' Magic Box by The Loved Ones

  53. Pleasures of the Harbor by Phil Ochs

  54. Pastel Blues by Nina Simone

  55. Kind of Blue by Miles Davis

  56. Rubber Soul by The Beatles

  57. In Dreams by Roy Orbison

  58. Reach Out by The Four Tops

  59. Incomparable Soul Vocalist by Lou Johnson

  60. With a Little Help from My Friends by Joe Cocker

  61. Blue Afternoon by Tim Buckley

  62. Music from Big Pink by The Band

  63. The Temptations Sing Smokey by The Temptations

  64. A Charlie Brown Christmas by Vince Guaraldi

  65. Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. by The Monkees

  66. Les Gorilles: chansons pas pour toutes les oreilles by Georges Brassens

  67. The Beatles (White Album) by The Beatles

  68. Goodbye and Hello by Tim Buckley

  69. Lonely and Blue by Roy Orbison

  70. At Last! by Etta James

  71. The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society by The Kinks

  72. Townes Van Zandt by Townes Van Zandt

  73. From Elvis in Memphis by Elvis Presley

  74. Highway 61 Revisited by Bob Dylan

  75. Claudine by Claudine Longet

  76. The Two of Us by Dinah Washington and Brook Benton

  77. Camelot (Broadway Cast Recording)

  78. Live at the Apollo by James Brown

  79. Four Tops Second Album by The Four Tops

  80. Twistin’ the Night Away by Sam Cooke

  81. The Soul Album by Otis Redding

  82. More of the Monkees by The Monkees

  83. Cloud Nine by The Temptations

  84. Man of La Mancha (Broadway Cast Recording)

  85. Getz/Gilberto by Stan Getz and João Gilberto featuring Antônio Carlos Jobim

  86. The Berkeley Concert by Lenny Bruce

  87. Meet the Temptations by the Temptations

  88. Crosby, Stills & Nash by Crosby, Stills & Nash

  89. Just Once in My Life by The Righteous Brothers

  90. The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie by Stevie Wonder

  91. Hipsters, Flipsters, Finger-Poppin' Daddies! by Geno Washington & the Ram Jam Band

  92. A Toast to Those Who Are Gone by Phil Ochs

  93. The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan by Bob Dylan

  94. Sherry & 11 Others by The Four Seasons

  95. Fist City by Loretta Lynn

  96. Gitarzan by Ray Stevens

  97. “I’m So Good That I Don’t Have to Brag”: Shel Silverstein Sings His Songs by Shel Silverstein

  98. Houston by Dean Martin

  99. By Request by Jim Nabors

  100. Andrea by The Sunrays

‍ ‍

— March 4, 2026


Return to Additional Lists